Industry began in 1937

Without any delay, Chen Yuan immediately took the batch of newly forged ironware, still slightly warm, and returned to Gouzi Village.

When he reappeared at the entrance of Gouzi Village in the afternoon sunlight, carrying this pile of things, even Third Uncle and Old Han were taken aback.

"Young man, you're incredibly quick!" Old Han exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at what the young man had unloaded. How could he have done such a short time?

"The materials are readily available, and the tools are handy, so it'll be quick," Chen Yuan explained vaguely, laying out the ironware. "Third Master, Uncle Han, I'd like to use these to exchange for some more grain with the village. Also..." He looked at Old Han, his tone sincere.

"Uncle Han, you're an old hand at navigating these mountains, you know the way well. I'd like to visit some other villages nearby and see if I can exchange these iron tools for some copper. But I don't know the way, and I don't understand the customs of other villages... Could you please take me there? I'll offer you the iron tools as payment."

Before Old Han could speak, Third Master said, "Exchanging grain is easy. I'll show you the way..." He looked at Old Han, "Old Han, you take him to Shipenyu below, it's not far, just in time to come back."

Old Han took a puff of his pipe, squinted at Chen Yuan, then at the delicate sewing needles, scissors, and ironware on the ground, and nodded: "Alright. Shipenyu is just in the gully ahead, a few miles away, we'll be there in no time. If we go now, we can be back before dark."

The villages in the Taihang Mountains are almost all nestled in gullies.

These gullies are also crisscrossed by rivers, which are the source of people's livelihood.

Chen Yuan was overjoyed: "Thank you so much, Uncle Han! Thank you so much, Third Master!"

At that moment, the village pooled together about three or four catties of mixed flour and two wild vegetable dumplings, exchanging them for most of the new ironware that Chen Yuan had brought.

Chen Yuan carefully put away the fifty steel needles, four pairs of scissors, two machete heads, and some iron nails as his "capital" for going to Shipenyu.

Without delay, Chen Yuan and Old Han set off immediately.

Just as Third Master had said, Shipenyu was located further down in the same ravine. Following the narrow riverbed with only a little water and the path worn by people and animals, after walking for less than half an hour, a slightly larger village with more densely packed houses came into view.

Compared to Gouzi Village, Shipenyu does seem more "prosperous," at least it has a few decent houses with low courtyard walls.

Old Han was clearly familiar with the place and led Chen Yuan straight to a relatively tidy courtyard in the village.

The village chief was a dark-skinned, thin, and wiry man. He was very polite to Old Han, but after hearing his purpose and seeing the gleaming sewing needle and the nimble scissors that Chen Yuan had taken out, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Great stuff! Really great stuff!" The village chief picked up a needle, examined it in the light, and then tried it on the scissors. "Where in Gouzi Village could you find such a skilled craftsman?"

"This young man, who has fallen on hard times, has some skills and wants to exchange them for some copper," Old Han explained on his behalf.

"Copper?" the village chief pondered. "This stuff is rare, but in our village... each household might have some old copper coins or broken copper pieces. I'll have someone call out for them."

The news spread quickly.

The villagers of Shipenyu were far more enthusiastic about sewing needles and scissors than Chen Yuan had expected, especially the women, who held the smooth, sharp needles and the nimble, sharp scissors almost reluctant to let go.

Soon, a small pile of "junk" appeared in front of Chen Yuan: a hundred or so copper coins of various colors covered in rust, several copper shoehorns and fragments of copper ornaments, a copper lock that was completely rusted, and two small, flat pieces of brass that had been removed from some unknown object.

Chen Yuan traded twenty needles, four pairs of scissors, a machete tip, and twenty iron nails for this pile of copper, and also got an extra small piece of tanned animal hide of unknown origin.

There's still too little copper.

But Chen Yuan knew that metals like copper, which could be used as money, were already rare in the mountain village.

While counting the exchanged items, he noticed that a villager had taken out a small earthenware jar about the size of a fist, which contained a dark, semi-solid paste.

"What is this?" Chen Yuan asked.

"It's a kind of earthen ointment that prevents freezing and cracking. We apply it to our hands and faces in winter to prevent them from drying out and cracking. Sometimes we also use it to coat our metal parts to prevent them from rusting too quickly," the villager explained.

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Could it prevent rusting?

Isn't that just a simple protective grease?

If we ever make a human-powered, foot-operated machine in the future, the rotating parts like bearings and gears will definitely need lubricants and rust-proofing agents. This homemade grease might be able to keep it running for a while.

He then used a dozen or so iron nails to replace the jar of earthen ointment.

On the way back to Gouzi Village, Chen Yuan weighed the newly acquired copper in his hand, estimating it to be about one and a half pounds.

With the extra pound I got from Gouzi Village, I now have about two and a half pounds of copper! I'm only half a pound away from my goal of three pounds!

It was still early when we returned to Gouzi Village.

Third Master and Old Han were both surprised by Chen Yuan's efficiency when they saw that he had returned so quickly and with new gains.

Chen Yuan was anxious and wished he could go to the next village immediately.

Old Han glanced at the sky, then at the bandaged wound on his foot—which would inevitably be uncomfortable after such a long walk—and shook his head: "Young man, there's no rush. It's getting dark, and it's not safe to walk at night. Your foot needs a rest too. Further down from Shipenyu, the nearest village is over a mountain ridge. I'll take you there early tomorrow morning."

Chen Yuan knew that Old Han was right, and his foot was indeed aching again. It would be too risky to force himself to walk through the mountains at night.

He thought for a moment and said to Old Han and Third Uncle, "Third Uncle, Uncle Han, I've troubled the village again today, and I'm so grateful that you took me there. Please use some of the grain I exchanged for dinner tonight. We can't keep eating the village's food for free."

Third Master waved his hand: "A meal of porridge and flatbread, what's the point? Keep the food you got for yourself, you need to replenish your strength. Just make do at Old Han's place for one night, and go again tomorrow when you feel better."

He's quite tall, but not very strong; it's a waste of his size.

Old Han tapped his pipe: "Exactly, what a charlatan. At least a house has walls and a roof, it's warmer than your cave. In your cave, at this time of year, you'd probably wake up freezing in the middle of the night."

Chen Yuan felt a little scared after hearing this.

Although a fire could be lit in the cave to keep out the cold, it was still drafty from all sides. Sleeping on the dry grass, with only a thin skin, the cold seeped into your bones and was indeed hard to bear.

As the sun began to set and a chilly mountain wind picked up, he stopped insisting and readily agreed, "Then... I'll trouble Uncle Han and Aunt Han for another night. Thank you!"

That night, Chen Yuan stayed in the outer room of Old Han's house. Old Han's children worked in the city at the foot of the mountain, and they provided Chen Yuan with a bed and bedding.

It hasn't been aired out for a long time, so it smells a bit musty.

Old Han's wife quietly brought over dinner—a bowl of thin porridge made with sweet potatoes, cabbage, and millet, so thick you could see your reflection in it, and a multigrain pancake bigger than a fist.

Chen Yuan already knew that this was the most common and "hearty" meal for mountain people after a day's work.

He imitated Old Han, silently drinking his porridge and taking small bites of the coarse flatbread.

After a bowl of thin porridge, my stomach felt warm, but I was still far from feeling full.

Aunt Han wanted to give him more pancakes, but Chen Yuan refused them no matter what.

He once again truly felt how precious food was in this era and on this land, and how difficult it was to survive.

After finishing his meal, Old Han took out his medicine jar again and gestured for Chen Yuan to treat his foot injury.

Chen Yuan gratefully accepted it, and by the light of the oil lamp, he untied the strips of cloth and carefully applied the black and green ointment to the wound that had turned red again.

The cooling effect of the ointment temporarily suppressed the burning and stinging pain caused by walking.

Lying on the straw mat, with the new leather quilt he had just received underneath him and a worn but thick cotton quilt from the Han family covering him, Chen Yuan opened his eyes in the darkness.

Although the stone house was simple, it was much warmer and more reassuring than the drafty cave.

We're still short half a pound of copper.

There are approximately twenty hours left.

Tomorrow, we must succeed.

In the silence, he could hear Old Han's soft snoring from the inner room and the mountain wind whistling past outside.